Edward John Herrmann
Edward John Herrmann was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Columbus from 1973 to 1982.Biography
Herrmann was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on November 6, 1913, the son of Episcopalian parents, Walter E. and Jennie Doyle Herrmann, who owned a small grocery store. His father died in the 1918 flu pandemic and young Edward was baptized a Catholic in 1919.
Herrmann attended St. Bernard and St. James grade schools, graduated from Loyola High School in Baltimore in 1931, and then went to work for the American Oil Company in Baltimore to help support his family during the Great Depression.
After studies at Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, Herrmann was ordained a priest on June 12, 1947, in Baltimore’s Cathedral of the Assumption by Baltimore Auxiliary Bishop John Michael McNamara. He was destined for the nascent Archdiocese of Washington, DC, where he served as pastor and assistant chancellor. Pope Paul VI appointed Herrmann Auxiliary Bishop and Washington Archbishop Patrick O'Boyle consecrated him on April 26, 1966 at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington. He became vicar general and chancellor of the archdiocese.
Herrmann was appointed Bishop of Columbus, Ohio on June 26, 1973 by Pope Paul VI and installed as its ninth bishop on August 21, 1973. He served until he resigned at 68 on September 18, 1982, remaining diocesan administrator until April 25, 1983, when Bishop James A. Griffin succeeded him.
In retirement, Bishop Herrmann resided at St. Ann's Infant and Maternity Home in Avondale, Maryland. He returned to Columbus in November 1991 to serve as priest and Bishop Emeritus of the diocese. He died as Bishop Emeritus of Columbus on December 22, 1999 and was buried in the crypt of St. Joseph Cathedral in Columbus.
